Oscar Munoz Quotes

Powerful Oscar Munoz for Daily Growth

About Oscar Munoz

Oscar J. Muñoz, born on August 6, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois, is an American business executive who has significantly impacted the airline industry with his innovative leadership and strategic vision. Raised by Mexican immigrants, he learned early about the power of hard work, perseverance, and overcoming adversity - themes that would later resonate in his literary works. Muñoz earned a Bachelor's degree from DePaul University and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago, where he also taught for several years. His professional journey began at United Airlines, where he held various roles before being appointed as CEO in 2015. As a writer, Muñoz is perhaps best known for his book, "A Humble Path: Seventeen Principles from the Dala'i Lama to Guide Us Through Life's Challenges," published in 2019. This book, inspired by the teachings of the Dalai Lama, offers insights into personal and professional growth, drawing upon Muñoz's own experiences navigating complex corporate challenges. In addition to "A Humble Path," Muñoz has also authored several articles on leadership, diversity, and inclusion in various business publications. His writings reflect his deep commitment to creating a more equitable and compassionate world, both within the corporate sector and beyond. Throughout his career, Oscar Muñoz's life experiences have shaped him into a transformative leader, author, and humanitarian. His works serve as a testament to the power of empathy, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of overcoming adversity.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"We are the airline that will fight for our customers."

This quote by Oscar Munoz emphasizes a strong commitment to prioritizing customer needs and advocating on their behalf, even in challenging circumstances. The phrase "fight" implies a willingness to take action and strive for the best possible outcomes for customers, demonstrating a customer-centric approach that sets a high standard for service and care in the airline industry.

"We've always been there for our customers in their times of need."

This quote by Oscar Munoz emphasizes a company's commitment to providing support and assistance during challenging or difficult times for its customers. It underscores the importance of empathy, reliability, and consistency in customer relationships, as well as the notion that businesses should prioritize their customers' needs over their own. In essence, it signifies a strong focus on customer service and satisfaction, positioning the company as a dependable ally in times of adversity.

"I want to make sure we're doing everything we can to care for each other."

This quote by Oscar Munoz emphasizes the importance of empathy, compassion, and mutual support among individuals. He underscores that in any context or situation, prioritizing the well-being and care of others is vital. It suggests a leader who not only focuses on goals but also on fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and cared for. This approach helps build strong relationships, promotes a positive culture, and ultimately leads to a more successful team or organization.

"We have one chance to get this right, and I believe that our team is capable of delivering on the expectations of our customers, our shareholders, and the traveling public."

The quote by Oscar Munoz emphasizes a sense of urgency and importance in fulfilling their duty. He suggests that they only have one opportunity to act effectively and satisfactorily. The "one chance" refers to a crucial moment where outcomes matter significantly, whether it be customer satisfaction, financial success, or public trust. Furthermore, he expresses confidence in his team's abilities to meet the expectations set by various stakeholders (customers, shareholders, and the traveling public).

"Our people are the heart and soul of United Airlines, and we need to make sure they are empowered to take care of each other and our customers."

This quote emphasizes that the employees of United Airlines represent the core values and spirit (the 'heart and soul') of the company. Oscar Munoz is highlighting the importance of fostering an environment where these employees are not only capable but also motivated to support each other, as well as the customers they serve. By empowering their workforce in this way, the airline can ensure a positive and harmonious working culture, and ultimately provide high-quality service that benefits both employees and customers alike.

At United, I will dedicate myself to making our airline flyer-friendly.

- Oscar Munoz

Will, Making, United, Dedicate

Our employees and competitors thought we were docile. We want to be defiantly disruptive. I don't mean necessarily by launching price wars but by being the best at the basics - having the best customer service, the best on-time performance, the best coffee - in a thoughtful, not a testosterone-laced, way.

- Oscar Munoz

Best, Thought, Basics, Docile

Treating our customers and each other with respect and dignity is at the core of who we are, and we must always remember this no matter how challenging the situation.

- Oscar Munoz

Matter, Always, Other, Treating

We didn't have nine brands of cereal at home. We'd line up to fill our bowls from a giant vat of oatmeal.

- Oscar Munoz

Line, Nine, Brands, Oatmeal

We are not going to put a law enforcement official onto a plane to take them off... to remove a booked, paid, seated passenger. We can't do that.

- Oscar Munoz

Law, Plane, Booked, Seated

I believe we must go further in redefining what United's corporate citizenship looks like in our society... and we intend to live up to those higher expectations in the way we embody social responsibility and civic leadership everywhere we operate.

- Oscar Munoz

Believe, United, Our, Embody

I think we have a thriving economic engine between not only the U.S. and Mexico but the U.S. and many, many other countries.

- Oscar Munoz

Think, Other, Thriving, Engine

I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way. I want you to know that we take full responsibility, and we will work to make it right. It's never too late to do the right thing.

- Oscar Munoz

Late, Too Late, Mistreated

There are no more holes in my management lineup.

- Oscar Munoz

Management, More, Holes, Lineup

When LeBron James shows up at your doorstep, you're going to let him practice with your team if not join the team.

- Oscar Munoz

Practice, Going, LeBron, Doorstep

We are dedicated to setting the standard for customer service among U.S. airlines, as we elevate the experience our customers have with us from booking to baggage claim.

- Oscar Munoz

Standard, Dedicated, Booking, Claim

I'm told by our internal surveys that we take of customers - by customers themselves directly and by a very large group of our employees - that there's a new spirit at United.

- Oscar Munoz

New, Very, Internal, Group

We have such rigid rules, sometimes, that they don't have to be rules. They can be policies and procedures that can be adapted for the moment.

- Oscar Munoz

Rules, Sometimes, Procedures, Adapted

We have not provided our frontline supervisors and managers and individuals with the proper procedures that would allow them to use their common sense.

- Oscar Munoz

Use, Allow, Provided, Procedures

For me, it's common sense to treat other people like you would like to be treated. Empathy is a broad concept, but how do you get there? People get there differently. I get there by truly building a little trust and connection. You'll tell me something, I'll act on it, and then that builds on itself.

- Oscar Munoz

Trust, Treat, Other, Common Sense

At the end of the day, the differential, I believe, on the airline space has got to be about the product and the service that you provide. And again, I can't express that enough. That comes from people. It is a people business, and my primary focus is to get our 84,000-plus people back aligned, back engaged, and back focused on our customer.

- Oscar Munoz

Focus, Engaged, About, Primary

Our progress isn't just limited to the operation. Financially, we have been performing well. United's 2015 earnings were one of the best in the company's history, and we made significant progress shrinking the margin gap with our closest competitors, strengthening our balance sheet, and returning significant cash to shareholders.

- Oscar Munoz

United, Been, Strengthening, Closest

To get our passengers where they want to go safely and happily requires thousands of us working together with a shared purpose of supporting each other in serving our customers.

- Oscar Munoz

Other, Shared, Passengers, Supporting

In the telecommunications, consumer products, and railway businesses, there are very real consequences if you don't meet the consumer's needs and desires. There are also substantive rewards for doing so, and especially for exceeding customer expectations.

- Oscar Munoz

Doing, Needs, Very, Consumer

Somewhere in the mix, we forgot the very critical people who deliver the service.

- Oscar Munoz

Service, Critical, Very, Mix

It's a new era with regard to social media. It's just something that we have to adapt to and accept.

- Oscar Munoz

New, Adapt, Social, Just Something

We are market based and have to differentiate our product in many ways; pricing isn't the only one.

- Oscar Munoz

Product, Market, Based, Differentiate

As board members, we only meet infrequently and are not as engaged with the front line, necessarily. The first thing I did as CEO was I left this board room.

- Oscar Munoz

Line, Engaged, Front Line, Board

We're going to teach and broaden sort of the cultural impact of respect and dignity, regardless of where you're sitting. And that's why we've said once you've boarded an aircraft, we're not going to take you off except for safety and security.

- Oscar Munoz

Safety, Security, Why, Sitting

We will not only be more flexible when it comes to price, we'll also be more efficient operationally by forgoing pre-assigned seating, priority boarding, upgrading the option for last-minute changes.

- Oscar Munoz

Will, More, Efficient, Last-Minute

Clearly, nutrition is great. I was a vegan, so being an athlete and a vegan certainly sounds like it would be the right thing to prevent something like heart disease, but it's highly genetic.

- Oscar Munoz

Disease, Genetic, Certainly, Highly

We are deeply sorry for the loss of anything - from your luggage to, of course, a loved pet.

- Oscar Munoz

Loss, Sorry, Loved, Luggage

I am thrilled to return full time to a job and the employees I love.

- Oscar Munoz

Love, I Am, I Love, Thrilled

I think the hardest thing that, historically, the industry may have relied upon is that we can't control weather, we can't control air traffic control, and use that at the end of the day as an excuse. Things do happen - we know they happen. We don't exactly know when they are going to happen, but we should definitely be prepped.

- Oscar Munoz

End Of The Day, I Think, Use, Traffic

I represent the interests of almost 90,000 human beings in our system. That's by far my first and foremost commitment.

- Oscar Munoz

Commitment, Almost, Foremost, Represent

I can't tell you how many thousands of small moments that I've had with employees in our company that have been nothing more than a one-on-one. I'll see the baggage-services person, he or she is by himself. I'll pull them off to the side and have a 15-minute conversation about their history, their life, that kind of thing.

- Oscar Munoz

Small, Tell, Been, Conversation

Communication and communication strategy is not just part of the game - it is the game.

- Oscar Munoz

Communication, Game, Part, Strategy

Getting people where they want to go, reliably and happily, can make or break their ability to succeed in a work endeavor or to hug a family member at an important moment.

- Oscar Munoz

Work, Break, Reliably, Hug

I was hired to make United better, and that's what we'll do.

- Oscar Munoz

Better, United, Make, Hired

We set out to reinvent the whole business class experience. We went back to re-engineer everything we had thought about and made sleep a priority.

- Oscar Munoz

Business, Reinvent, Set, Priority

I am a first-generation college graduate, and I'm proud to say that most of my other siblings have college degrees as well. Our parents taught us to work hard and never forget our family roots, where we came from, and how much effort it took to get to where we are today.

- Oscar Munoz

Effort, College, Other, Graduate

The airline industry has been closely watching, monitoring, exactly what the rail industry has done.

- Oscar Munoz

Been, Rail, Closely, Monitoring

We had taken the cups for coffee out of the building as a cost-saving measure, but left the coffee. Somebody thought it was symbolic to do this.

- Oscar Munoz

Thought, Had, Symbolic, Cups

It is important that we win back the trust of employees first, then customers.

- Oscar Munoz

Trust, Important, Back, Customers

Let's be honest: the implementation of the United and Continental merger has been rocky for customers and employees.

- Oscar Munoz

United, Been, Continental, Customers

It's the human approach to customers that I want to bring back.

- Oscar Munoz

Want, Back, Bring, Customers

It's so important that we tell customers what's going on as best as we can. And we're trying to do that. We don't often know ourselves, for so many different factors, but reliability, flexibility, and information are the three critical customer service orientations.

- Oscar Munoz

Tell, Reliability, Critical, Customers

We have some inherent cost and infrastructure issues that are difficult to deal with, no questions. From my perspective, we have to work on the revenue side primarily. We've lost some customers. We need to rebuild the trust with those customers and get them back.

- Oscar Munoz

Trust, Some, Deal, Customers

It is my mission to ensure we make the changes needed to provide our customers with the highest level of service and the deepest sense of respect. Ultimately, our actions will speak louder than words.

- Oscar Munoz

Level, Louder, Highest Level, Customers

You forget sometimes that the people you're carrying are human.

- Oscar Munoz

People, Forget, Sometimes, Carrying

It is a free world. It is a dynamic of our new day and age: technology is everywhere.

- Oscar Munoz

World, New, Day And Age, Free World

United spent $1.2 billion repurchasing shares in 2015 and plans to spend $1.5 billion on share repurchases in the first quarter of 2016. We have a lot of positive momentum, but this is just the beginning.

- Oscar Munoz

Beginning, United, Spent, Shares

We have significant work to be done. We have old, antiquated systems. Remember the 8-track tape player? Think of that as our core system, and we're living in a world where everybody has an iPhone.

- Oscar Munoz

Think, Living, Everybody, iPhone

I think one of the things that, at least, I found out over - and many have in the industry - is that of all the customer service desires and needs, price is one of them.

- Oscar Munoz

Think, Over, Needs, Customer

I think we need to communicate more effectively how we treat you with respect and dignity as a customer.

- Oscar Munoz

Treat, Think, I Think, Customer

The process of overbooking is a complicated one. It's actually minimal. We, on certain flights, overbook by one or two people.

- Oscar Munoz

Process, Two People, Two, Flights

Our parents taught us to work hard and never forget our family roots, where we came from, and how much effort it took to get to where we are today.

- Oscar Munoz

Work, Work Hard, Took, Never Forget

Clearly, on a visceral human front, I oppose any wall, anywhere, between any people - period.

- Oscar Munoz

Clearly, Visceral, Period, Oppose

We have to realize we have millions of human beings traveling on our equipment.

- Oscar Munoz

Human Beings, Equipment, Beings

If you feel anything weird, immediately call 911 and give them your address because you may not make it past the phone call.

- Oscar Munoz

Give, May, Address, Phone Call

Everyone eventually matches or leapfrogs everyone else.

- Oscar Munoz

Everyone, Everyone Else, Matches

This is a pattern-bargaining industry, like railroads. You need to pay market to get a contract at all, and without contracts, you have a poor relationship with workers.

- Oscar Munoz

Need, Contract, Like, Workers

It is about the entire experience. It's not just a new seat. It's not just new meals. It's not just better wines.

- Oscar Munoz

New, Better, Seat, Wines

I feel terrific - my mind, my energy, my focus continues to be what it always has been, and I have a renewed sense of purpose.

- Oscar Munoz

Mind, Always, Been, Terrific

Simply put, we haven't lived up to your expectations... That's going to change.

- Oscar Munoz

Change, Going, Lived, Expectations

Uncertainty always creates doubt, and doubt creates fear.

- Oscar Munoz

Uncertainty, Doubt, Always, Creates

Everyone has images in their mind of what to expect from different groups.

- Oscar Munoz

Mind, Expect, Images, Groups

If you fly and you look around today and you see our United family, you see them incredibly motivated and focused on making things right.

- Oscar Munoz

Making, Motivated, United, Incredibly

I think my reaction to most issues is to get the facts and circumstances.

- Oscar Munoz

Think, Circumstances, Most, Facts

United's 2015 earnings were one of the best in the company's history.

- Oscar Munoz

Best, United, Were, Earnings

The level of improvement has been great across the industry, and we have improved along with everyone.

- Oscar Munoz

Been, Along, Across, Improved

If I have any strength that would be considered above average, it is that I can read people.

- Oscar Munoz

Strength, Average, Read, Above

We are committed to re-earning your trust.

- Oscar Munoz

Trust, Your, Committed

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